


Birthday Trail Ride

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 21:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14702448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: The Jorvik Rangers (and Louisa) organise a birthday surprise for Allison. Allison belongs to a-lonely-star-gazer on tumblr.





	Birthday Trail Ride

Allison Nightstar smiled as she turned her horse up the familiar, well-trodden slope towards the main base of the Mistfall branch of the Jorvik Rangers. Her horse’s ears perked up as though he, too, was looking forward to seeing the members, both human and horse, of the Jorvik Rangers.

As usual, Alonso was waiting by the horse paddock, where he ran the three races currently offered by the Jorvik Rangers to the riders of Jorvik. Allison had ridden these races many times, usually while training her horses but also with friends, and she had to admit that they were pretty good races, if a bit tricky. At least she could enjoy the natural beauty of Mistfall while she trained, though.

“Hey, Alonso,” said Allison, raising her hand in greeting after bringing her horse to a stop in front of him. Alonso looked up, a stopwatch still in his hand.

“Oh, hey, Allison,” said Alonso. “Just move aside, there’s someone coming in.” Allison quickly moved over to stand closer to the paddock, and just in time too, as a girl on horseback suddenly came thundering up and pulled her horse, a brindle mustang, to a stop just past where Alonso was standing. The horse’s hooves dug furrows into the ground, though the girl looked a little bored despite the earbuds in her ears. She took one out, pulling out a device and pressing a button on it, as she turned to Alonso.

“How was that?” asked the girl, one whom Allison vaguely recognised. Though she hadn’t seen her on the trails much, nor had she seen this particular horse before (or the dark brown squirrel weaving between the horse’s feet, for that matter), something tugged at Allison’s mind, some vague recognition.

“Well, you nearly took me out again,” said Alonso, dusting some dirt off the front of his jacket. “But you made it this time, Louisa.”

“Oh, thank god,” said Louisa, reaching over to pet her horse’s neck. “Those races are too hard, Alonso, you should lengthen the time allowed between checkpoints.”

“It’s not hard,” said Alonso. “You just have to concentrate.” Louisa rolled her eyes, but then she caught sight of Allison still sitting on her horse beside the horse paddock. She brightened in recognition.

“Hey! Allison, right?” said Louisa. Allison nodded. “Happy birthday! At least, I think it’s your birthday today, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” said Allison, nodding again. “And thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Louisa, smiling. “Oh! I haven’t got you a present yet but if you give me a few hours, I can get something organised.”

“Are you sure?” asked Allison, playing with a lock of her hair. “You don’t have to, really, don’t go to too much trouble for me.”

“Hey, I said that I was going to celebrate everyone’s birthday, and I’m going to stick to that vow,” said Louisa, a serious look coming over her features. “But for now, I still need to train this one. Come on, Tigerstar.” She gave her horse another pat and turned to head back down the hill. Allison watched her go, feeling a little shy but also eager to find out what Louisa had in store for her.

“So, it’s your birthday, huh?” said Alonso. While most girls would blush and coo under Alonso’s attention, Allison only nodded at him.

“Mm-hm,” Allison hummed in the affirmative. “Seventeen today. I’m getting old.”

“Hey, when you say that, it makes me feel old,” said Alonso with a chuckle. “I’m in my twenties, myself.”

“You? Really?” said Allison. Alonso nodded. “You don’t look a day past eighteen! Especially since you started styling your hair differently.”

“Heh, thanks,” said Alonso, running his hand over his gelled hair. He put his hat back on afterwards, though- sun safety was very important in the Jorvik Rangers because they spent all day out in the sun, or what little sun managed to penetrate the thick mists of Mistfall. “Eden calls me her baby-face.”

“Well, considering the amount of Jorvegians who seem to think that I’m younger than I actually am, I can definitely say that I relate,” said Allison.

“Well, at any rate, happy birthday,” said Alonso, smiling at her. “We should do something.”

“Thanks,” said Allison, blushing slightly at the attention. “What did you have in mind? Nothing that will make your girlfriend jealous, I hope.”

“Oh, definitely not, no,” said Alonso, laughing. “She wouldn’t like that, and it’d ruin your birthday if you had to contend with a jealous girlfriend.”

“Yeah, I got enough of that back when I used to spend my birthday in Moorland,” said Allison. “Justin or, later, Josh would do something with me, take me out for ice cream or something, and I’d have at least two jealous girls glaring daggers at me. Loretta was the worst, Julie just gave me these judgemental looks. Or maybe that was after I ‘accidentally’ tipped a wheelbarrow onto her shoes after I mucked out the stables for her again.” Alonso laughed again.

“Those Bobcat Girls sound like a real piece of work,” said Alonso.

“Oh, trust me, they are,” said Allison. “Even the Bulldogs aren’t that bad. That’s why I was so happy to learn about the Jorvik Rangers, at least this is a group that isn’t filled with petty infighting and trying to be better than everyone else.”

“We just want to make Mistfall, and Jorvik, a better place for everyone, plants, animals, and wildlife,” said Alonso, speaking with such pride in his voice that Allison swore she could hear triumphant, inspiring music playing in the background. “If any other group also has ideals and goals that align with our own, well, we’ll support them and help them whenever we can.”

“Y’know, talking like that, I can see how people fall in love with you,” said Allison. “You’re so passionate about it, so inspiring.”

“Should I tone it down a little?” asked Alonso, his cheeks flushing slightly pink.

“Nah, it’s a good thing,” said Allison, shaking her head. “We need more public speakers like you in the world, ones that can back up what they say.” Part of her hoped that Alonso had forgotten about her birthday, she really didn’t want him to go to too much effort for her. Maybe a group training session would be enough, though she hadn’t thought to organise one. Unless that was what Louisa was doing, but she was more of a solo trainer.

“Well then, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing,” said Alonso. “But right now, I have something more important to deal with.”

“And what’s that?” asked Allison, almost dreading hearing what he’d say next.

“Well, it’s your birthday, we’ve gotta celebrate somehow,” said Alonso. Allison blushed.

“I told you, I don’t want any fuss,” said Allison. Her ears caught the sound of someone running across the camp, and her horse looked in that direction and nickered. Allison did not want to look.

“It’s your birthday?” Keema screeched, skidding to a stop right before she could crash into Allison’s horse. Her horse stepped back, looking with concern at the excitable teenager.

“Oh, rats,” Allison muttered under her breath. “Yeah, it’s my birthday today.”

“Happy birthday!” said Keema, grinning at her. “I’d hug you but you’re on your horse.” She turned to Alonso next. “Alonso! Did you know that it was Allison’s birthday?”

“She only told me this morning,” said Alonso. “And even then, only because Louisa mentioned it.”

“What? We’ve gotta celebrate!” said Keema. “I’ll run to the shops and buy a cake or something, and some balloons and streamers and-“

“Please, I don’t want any fuss,” said Allison.

“Are you kidding? It’s your birthday! Let us fuss!” said Keema. “I’ll just grab my keys.”

“No, really-“ Allison began, but Violet walked over, a squirrel hopping at her heels.

“Allison, is it your birthday?” asked Violet. Allison sighed, looking at the only other adult ranger aside from Alonso.

“Yes,” said Allison. “I really don’t want too much fuss over it, though.”

“No fuss? Very well then, let’s have a birthday trail ride,” said Violet. “Just the four of us, if you’re not opposed to Keema tagging along.”

“That girl would tag along even if she wasn’t allowed to, and we both know it,” said Alonso. Keema nodded.

“Alright, fine,” said Allison. “A birthday trail ride it is. But where to?”

“Well, it’s not like there’s a super impressive overlook trail that we just reopened to the public a couple of weeks ago,” said Keema with a scoff and a roll of her eyes. “Oh!” She turned to Violet, her eyes wide. “Violet, can I invite Rania?”

“I’m pretty sure that Rania has more important things to do right now, what with her mother being Councilwoman and all,” said Violet.

“Keema, we’re having a birthday trail ride for Allison, don’t try to make it a date,” said Alonso with a sigh.

“Someday, I’ll take her up there,” said Keema. “And it’ll be super romantic and she’ll fall in love with me right away.”

“Yes, someday, but not today,” said Alonso. “I’ll just grab some supplies and then we can head off.”

“Okay,” said Allison.

“I’ll keep an eye on this one,” said Violet, gesturing to Keema, who was looking longingly in the direction of Dundull.

“Can I take my car?” asked Keema.

“No,” said Violet in a deadpan voice that indicated exactly how many times she’d had to tell Keema that before. Keema pouted. “I’m sorry Keema, but the point of a trail ride is to ride. Not to drive your car to the location. That defeats the purpose.”

“Ugh, fine,” said Keema with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll choose a horse.”

“Why don’t you take Donnie?” asked Violet. “He’s the horse that you came here with.” She was referring to a bay mustang that trotted around the paddock. It was a rather pretty one.

“May as well,” said Keema with a resigned sigh. She hopped over the fence rather than opening the gate, riding bareback out of the paddock after Violet opened the gate for her and then closed it behind her.

It didn’t take very long at all for Alonso to fetch the supplies, just some nutritious snacks and sandwiches and also some bottles of water that they divided among their saddlebags. Keema was still grumbling about needing to ride when she could drive, but all three of them ignored her. At last, their packs filled with all of the supplies that they’d need (including a first aid kit, just in case of emergency), the group set out for the Peregrine Trail. Along the way, Allison enjoyed the sights and sounds of Mistfall, letting herself relax in the beautiful, peaceful surroundings. The scream of the elk had been a little frightening at first, but she’d quickly grown used to it.

Along the way, Allison saw Alonso looking at his phone and tapping out a message. Assuming that it was just Eden texting her boyfriend, Allison ignored it, far more interested in the sight of squirrels scampering along logs, or mistfoxes darting in and out of bushes. Violet kept them entertained with pieces of trivia about the flora and fauna native to Mistfall, while Allison shared training stories and other stories about her adventures in Jorvik. Nothing too outlandish, though, she didn’t want to bring the mood down or alarm anyone here. Or excite Keema, because Keema and Pandoria would be a horrible mix.

At the end of the trail, though, Allison was surprised to find a familiar horse and rider waiting for her.

“Louisa?” said Allison, dismounting her horse at the end of the trail. There was a little camping table set up near the firepit, on which sat a chocolate cake. It was even frosted.

“Surprise,” said Louisa, smiling. “Happy birthday, Allison. I baked you a cake.”

“I can see- wait, you baked that yourself? And frosted it and everything?” asked Allison. Louisa nodded. “But I thought you said you had to train first.”

“At first I was going to, but I felt bad so I went straight to Rania’s and baked a cake for you,” said Louisa. “I was worried that it wouldn’t cool in time to frost, but it did so that’s good.”

“You didn’t have to,” said Allison, feeling truly touched.

“I know but I wanted to,” said Louisa with a shrug. Allison smiled and impulsively hugged the other woman.

“Thank you,” said Allison, pulling away and smiling at her. “It looks delicious.”

“Is that a cake?” asked Keema, barging over to them.

“Yes, it’s my birthday cake,” said Allison. “Should we light candles and sing?”

“Only if you want to,” said Louisa.

“Yes, we have to,” said Keema. Alonso smiled as he produced some candles from his saddlebag.

“Did you guys plan this?” asked Allison, looking between the two.

“Guilty,” said Alonso with a laugh as he placed the candles in the cake. He lit them with Keema’s lighter, which was confiscated indefinitely. Keema usually complained about not having her lighter, but now, she had something more fun to do as she sang the happy birthday song loudly. The rangers and Louisa joined in, with much laughter, and Allison blushed bright red as they sang to her. Finally, she blew out the candles, making the same wish that she made on shooting stars whenever she found them- wishing for peace and happiness for everyone. And for evil to be defeated once and for all.


End file.
